Customer Reviews

Assault on a Queen [VHS]

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Adapted from a great book by Jack Finney (who wrote the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"), "Assault" follows the exploits of a bunch of losers who hit the big time when they discover a sunken U-Boat, a german sub from WWII. Restoring the sub, they plot to use it in an unbelievable act of high-seas piracy. Setting their sights on the queen of the seas, the Queen Mary, they set out in their purloined sub to rattle disarmed torpedoes at it. The plot allows some lapses in credibility (though there's only the 5 would-be pirates, compared to the numbers it would take to run a real U-boat, but that's acceptable since nothing else goes right for them.

The novel is worth a good read, but the film works its own groove - the genial soldier's of fortune of the book are replaced by a more flavorful mix, including Sinatra as the hero and the great Tony Franciosa as his rival in morality and for the love of Virna Lisi. The former U-boat ace, whose Nazi past was a wedge between him and the Americans in the book, doesn't seem so out of place among them here. Though the film junks the book's best premise of showing how these otherwise honest joes jump the line into the criminal world, it more than makes up for that with a snappy script by Rod Serling and a jazzy score by Ellington. You won't love these charachters, but you'll still be glued to them. By the time Tony Franciosa makes it aboard the Queen Mary in the uniform of an RN submariner, you'll be yelling at the screen "Leftanant! Leftanant!! There are no Liuetenants in the Royal Navy!"

A group of would-be pirates use a recovered german submarine to attempt to rob the ocean liner H.M.S Queen Mary. This was not academy award winning picture and there were no outstanding performances by the cast. It is an entertaining film none the less due to the interesting plot. The undersea photography was very good especially shots of the submarine.

Frank Sinatra plays Mark Brittain, a former submarine officer, who joins rich Italian beauty Rosa Lucchesi (Virna Lisi) and her partners Vic Rossiter (Tony Franciosa) and Eric Lauffnauer (Alf Kjellin) in diving for lost treasure off the coast of Florida. When they discover a sunken German submarine, Luaffnauer the former U-Boat commander convinces the others to raise the sub and use it to hijack the Queen Mary. "Assault on a Queen" drags a little bit when they are restoring the sub, but the actual attempt at hijacking redeems the film. You know things are not going to work according to plan but you have to believe Sinatra's character is going to come out of this ahead. Still, you can never be sure. This 1966 film was directed by Jack Donohue and had a script by Rod Serling from the novel by Jack Finney. Final Note: The music for "Assault on a Queen" was by Duke Ellington.

This novel and subsequent 1960's film is without a doubt, a very interesting, highly improbable, but very entertaining idea concerning a group of individuals looking to make a big score for various selfish reasons. Initially looking for a sunken gold catch from an old wreck, a hired diver (Frank Sinatra) discovers and inspects a German U-Boat, unreported and in apparent good conditon found on the ocean floor. The plot turns in the film as the adventurers decide to go for the U-Boat and see if it can be used to heist gold that is currently afloat by Robbing the Queen Mary on the high seas and using the sub as a weapon. The film is handled in a laid back manner. Sinatra plays a down and out semi-alcoholic adventurer, tired of war and all the rules. The film has atmosphere. There is a terrific Jazz score by none other than Duke Ellington. The underwater scenes are good and you are left with an overall good impression of an entertaining film. It is now almost forgotten among the Sinatra films but is actually one of his better acting performances as his personality works well with the character requirements. The book of course is different, as all films tend to lean to mandatory romance requirements and dramatic character confrontations and this includes the usual formula that British films seem to be able to do without. Recommended for an evening view, if you can find a copy.

This captivated me as it was about a duo who took life as it was presented, but tried to capitalize when life was presented to them. I always thought how life would be on the run. This movie encapsulates this thought pattern throughout! The gumption that the cast portrays in trying to rob one of the largest ocean liners in existence is guts personified. This is a great, although implausible, movie, even by today's standards. Rent or buy this movie. You will not be sorry!

a fascinating what if story for those interested in uboats and classic ocean liners in modern times.

near exellent condition. wish I had it on DVD!! would definately purchase from this source again!